Casting your Characters by Connie Vines

Casting your characters.

In Hollywood the studios hold casting calls. 

The ‘closed' sessions (actors who are being seen have been invited to audition) is the pool your block-buster movies directors/producers/writers use as a casting tool.

Perhaps your novel doesn’t’ feature a superhero.  Your story does, however, have an amazing cast of characters.

Right?
Perhaps not at the moment. . .but soon.

Let’s go back to the superhero/blockbuster movie as an example. 

No role in Hollywood is more scrutinized, and few can offer the type of onscreen immortality (or notoriety, depending on how the movie turns out). Michael Keaton's casting in 1989's Batman inspired nerd outrage before the Internet was a thing. Angry message board comments plastered the web when Heath Ledger was announced as the new Joker, and Ryan Reynolds' first outing as Deadpool in 2009's X-Men Origins: Wolverine appeared to have doomed the character's big screen prospects forever. But they all prevailed.

Hollywood miscasts:

Forget the stilted dialogue, the insipid love story that dominates the second movie or Jar Jar Binks and let's talk about the real problem with the 'Star Wars' prequels -- Hayden Christensen. His turn as Anakin Skywalker comes off as bratty, petulant and completely lacking in menace.

Of all the actors who've played Batman over the years, George Clooney is one of the most perplexing.  His performance in 1997's 'Batman & Robin' effectively killed the franchise until Christopher Nolan came along in 2005 with 'Batman Begins.'

When casting your characters, you need to examine everyone who auditions for a part in your upcoming novel.

Does he/she fit the part? Or is he/she a miscast?

Part to be cast: a genie.   I have decided to hold and ‘open casting’ call.

My first actor: This genie is female and appears to be middle-aged. She is a little short and is a bit pudgy.  She has dark brown eyes, dark red skin, and wavy white hair in a short ponytail.  She wears a short-sleeved tunic, a mid-length skirt, and a pair of earrings.  She lives in a biscuit tin and is fond of sweets.

Actor number two: This genie is male and appears to be rather young. He is short and is quite thin.  He has pastel orange eyes, yellow skin, and straight light brown hair worn mid-length.  He wears no shirt, a pair of mid-length trousers, and too much jewelry.  He lives in a brass lamp and grants your wishes... but not the way you wanted them.

Actor number three: This genie is male and appears to be rather young. He is tall and is quite muscular.  He has black eyes, light brown skin, and wavy dark blue hair wrapped underneath a turban.  He wears a long-sleeved tunic, a pair of long trousers, and a pair of wristbands.  He lives in a Chinese lamp and likes a cup of hot tea.

Of course, the perfect genie would depend on the premise of your story, the plot twists you have in place, and your interaction between characters.

If my story had a suburban setting with children who needed to be minded/guided, my choice is
actor #1.


Am I looking for an ‘evil/trouble-maker?  Actor #2 would be perfect.

Perhaps I’m looking for an unlikely romantic lead for a comedy. . .actor #3 wins the casting call.

Music. 

Cue the music. 

Every blockbuster has a dedicated theme song!


Happy Reading,
Connie Vines

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Living on a Futuristic Space Station - by Vijaya Schartz

Find Vijaya's eBooks HERE
and her paperbacks links at the bottom of this post

Imagine debarking from a spaceship into a vast array of wide corridors like an airport terminal. Except that the entryway seals are hermetic, and the side windows show black space, with spaceships anchored to the giant circular wheel encircling the space station, like the rings of a planet. The station floats in space, orbiting a small planet. Or it could be in the wide orbit of a faraway sun. The station, built and expanded over centuries, would be made of many different parts, some older, others brand new. Size is irrelevant in space. It can be as big as needed.

This is how I imagine Byzantium-5, the space station featured in the Azura Chronicles

First, you would notice the lighter gravity. You might even get sick. If you spent much time in space, it would be familiar, but if you came from a heavy world like Earth, the change would be noticeable. You would probably grow taller over time, as gravity doesn't pull you down as much, but your bones might grow lighter and weaker.

Hundreds of miles of corridors in a wide circle around the core. Fortunately, there are also levitating cars and carts to carry the luggage.

Hundreds of thousands could live there. Even millions. They would have room for growing food without dirt in hydroponic tubs, they would manufacture artificial meat in labs, without raising animals, and they would make their own water and their own oxygen. The complex would function like a large city, not bound by the planetary cycles of day and night... although they may want to create a semblance of circadian rhythm for the comfort of their visitors and inhabitants.

Parks and gardens would provide oxygen and relaxation

The station could be a port for trading goods, with commercial docks and cranes to load and unload large containers from ships to dock and vice-versa. It could also be a pleasure destination. I imagine a Vegas type of atmosphere, with entertainment, gambling dens, spas, shopping, restaurants, and all the luxuries we imagine in the future, like cyber-pleasures... the legal and the illegal kinds. I personally like the idea of sex robots.

Here the scale is misleading. The craft would be tiny as it approaches the behemoth of a station

By the time we get to that level of sophistication, we may have made contact with other space-faring races, and that might bring diversity (and possibly discrimination) into our advanced society.

Such a place would need tight security. Space is not the safest place. There would be corruption, gangs, drugs, terrorism, and individuals striving for control. Delinquents would be detained in jail-like areas. There might even be a prison, but who needs metal bars when a clear titanium pane can do the trick?

Glass is not resistant enough and too breakable for these windows. I imagine they are made of transparent metal

At the core of the structure, would be a reactor to generate the energy needed to keep that city in space running smoothly. As we know, reactors can become unstable. More fodder for future stories.

But what would happen to those forgotten by the system? Orphans growing on the fringe of the affluent society, escapees, and stowaways might be reduced to hide in disaffected parts of the station and form their own society. They might steal in order to survive. So far from central power (and from the overseeing authority), such a community might recourse to shortcuts, unethical practices, and oppression of the underprivileged.

Although this is a futuristic design for a train station, I imagine the style would fit a space station as well

As you see, the world of tomorrow may not be so different from ours, because no matter how many advances we make in science, health, and space exploration, human nature doesn't change that much.

It's all about survival, and the balance of good and evil. And that controversy will not soon be resolved, so there is plenty of fodder for upcoming science fiction novels.

In the meantime, you can learn more about life on a space station by reading the Azura Chronicles. Book 1, ANGEL MINE is already out and Fianna, my heroine, is a bounty hunter. But she was born on the Byzantium-5 space station, orphaned as a teenager, then survived with the protection of a violent gang, the Dragon Squad.

What in the frozen hells of Laxxar prompted Fianna to pursue her quarry to this forbidden blue planet? Well, she needs the credits... badly. But as if crashing in the jungle wasn't bad enough, none of her high-tech weapons work. She'll have to go native, after the most wanted felon in five galaxies. It's not just her job. It's personal.

Acielon has never seen an outworlder like this fascinating female, strangely beautiful, and fierce, like the feline predator loping at her side. He always dreamed of exploring the universe, despite the legends... and the interdiction. Is it truly a hellish place of violence, lies and suffering? If it spawned this intriguing creature, it must also be a place of wonders, adventure and excitement.

Fianna's instincts tell her someone is watching. Sheba, her telepathic feline partner, doesn't seem worried... yet, something on Azura isn't quite right.

HAPPY READING

Vijaya Schartz, author
http://www.vijayaschartz.com
Click to Vijaya's page on AMAZON - B&N - smashWords - KOBO 

Laughter is the best tonic---Tricia McGill

Find all my books here on my Books We Love Author page

When I look back at old family photographs, one thing stands out. We were always smiling. I grew up in a happy household with brothers who, although sensible, were also prone to silliness. They enjoyed a good laugh. This rings true to me today. I much prefer to watch a comedy on the TV. Sorry if I upset anyone but no one can produce comedy quite like the British. Even before TV came along in our household all the comedy shows on the radio were listened to and laughed along with by members of my family. My youngest brother was the prankster and his all-time favourites were The Goon Show and Hancock’s Half Hour. There were many others but these stand out when I recall him roaring with laughter at the complete madness of the Goons. He could impersonate every character and memorise every punchline. 

Shows like these were forerunners of other excellent shows we watched avidly once TV entered our lives. Shows like Porridge with masters of British comedy like Ronnie Barker playing Fletcher. Another favourite was Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em, the springboard for Michael Crawford into an amazing career in Movies and Theatre. And how can I leave out Faulty Towers?

I love paid TV as it has enabled me to catch up with old favourites such as One Foot in The Grave with grumpy old Victor Meldew and his long suffering wife. Or ‘Allo ‘Allo, and less ridiculous shows like To The Manor Born which when you boil it down had the makings of a good old love story. Poor Audrey Fforbes-Hamilton is forced to sell her stately home and we have a feeling all along that she is going to end up with the charming and handsome new owner of the manor.

Anyone remember The Good Life, where Tom Good and his lovely wife decide to leave the hectic world of the rat race in the city and settle in suburbia where they can grow their own vegies and even keep a pig or two.

I envy the children of today who have such a large variety of shows to watch aimed specifically at them. I have a few personal favourites that I wouldn’t miss for the world and often wish I was 40 years or more younger so that I could be a part of the world of animation. I admire the creators immensely. They breathe life into plasticine characters such as Wallace and Gromit. When one of my family members acquired a TV in the 50s with a screen not much bigger than a small laptop or tablet, we would all crowd around to watch shows like Muffin The Mule, The Flower Pot Men and of course there was Lassie where we could also sometimes shed a tear. All in black and white of course.

Things have moved on at a rapid rate and our TV tastes have obviously changed. I doubt my tastes have altered a lot though as I still watch shows like The IT Crowd and Miranda. You’ve probably guessed by now that I prefer comedy shows produced in the UK. Must be my inbuilt British sense of humour. 

Comedy helps us through the worst times in our lives and believe me I have lived through some dark days of loss and sorrow, as we all have to. But laughter is without doubt the best medicine of all, and it helps if we can laugh at ourselves.

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